Strange Meats

Zoo animals are fun to look at behind panes of plexiglass, but did you know they taste great too? If your stomach ever growls while you watch Animal Planet , then pay attention. Steak, pork chops and chicken are so over. If you crave some protein diversity, expand your culinary repertoire with some of these strange meats.

Bat

Despite the fact that regular consumption of bat meat was proven by scientists to be a potential cause of dementia and a rare neurological disorder, the Chamorro tribe in Guam just could not stop. Once you have bat, you never go back. Some of the evidence was circumstantial, to be fair to the aerial rodents, but bats in Guam love to eat the cycad plant, which is poisonous to humans. Many of the natives, in turn, hanker for bat fat, which is where the animals store the plant toxins. For safer bat alternatives, head to Bali, Indonesia, where giant fruit bats are banquet favorites and are not a cause for hallucinations.

Kangaroo

Perhaps not as strange as once thought given the preponderance of positive public relations around Australian wine and food culture over the past decade, kangaroo meat is still quite foreign to most. If the thought of a gnaw on 'roo tail makes you want to hop off in disgust, check yourself before you hurl. Kangaroo meat is lean protein and has been proven to lower bad cholesterol as part of a low-fat diet. A wide variety of kangaroo cuts (think cow here) have led to a slew of creative preparation options for innovative chefs Down Under. From the grill to the wok, the oven to the skillet, 'roo meat is incredibly versatile and at home with many types of spice rubs, marinades and flavors.

Snake

One can infer that China is a place where the collective palate is more audacious than anywhere on Earth. The Chinese eat just about any organism with a pulse — like snake, for example; big, massive snakes, small, slithery snakes; snakes. In 2001, the Chinese Year of the Snake, snake consumption was so rampant in parts of China that snake farmers made an appeal to government officials to intervene. But alas, it seems that few animals are safe from the Chinese diet and, in many cases, the closer to extinction, the yummier. Mind you, snakes don't yet fall into that category, but wild snakes in China do need to take heed in years like 2001. A nutritious source of protein (a trend with strange meats), snakes are also believed by millions to be a source of mystical powers and sexual vigor. In the city of Shenzhen, in South China, the population consumes 10 tons of snake meat a day. Apparently, the women are happy, if not a little sore.